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This Week in Cruise

Feb 12, 2012 10:12pm

Travel to Europe was affected late last week when extreme cold weather froze parts of the Danube River and disrupted travel across the continent. As of Friday the Romanian section of the Danube had been closed to traffic indefinitely, and today widespread cancellations were reported at Fiumicino airport in Rome. For more on the extreme weather in Europe, visit our Europe editor’s piece on the freezing of the Danube here and the latest travel cancellations here.

At the same time, cruise companies across Europe are rolling out new themed itineraries to take advantage of the burgeoning river cruise market. Viking River Cruises, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, is launching a 10-day “River of Gold” cruise along the Douro River in Portugal and Spain that targets the history of UNESCO World Heritage sites, folk music and wine connoisseurs with an expedition to sample port from traditional wooden casks in Porto. Learn more about the “River of Gold” itinerary here.

The Rhone will be seeing a lot of traffic as both Tauck and AmaWaterways are introducing France itineraries aimed at wine buffs and foodies. Tauck’s 10-day “A Taste of France” itinerary, beginning in Paris, offers travelers a market visit in Provence and Lyon, a wine tasting in Beaujolais and a demonstration of French culinary techniques. AmaWaterways’ “In Celebration of Wine” Cruise visits both France and Spain over the course of its fifteen days, with major stops in Lyon, Avignon and Arles. Learn about Tauck’s new itinerary here and AmaWaterways’ new offering here.